Sharing My Recipes, My Life, And The Food Tale Of Two Cities

Beef Barley Soup

by Linda Lou Hamel on January 29, 2015

Having worked at a few diners in my day, the words that are often spoken are “Soups On!” I’ve made the soups, and served them too. My beef and barley, #soup was definitely a favorite on those cold Florida days. Let me start by showing you how I cook the barley.

I start with low sodium chicken broth in a large pot. and some good barley. Next I add the barley to the chicken broth and bring them up to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook the barley until all the liquid has been absorbed.. This may take around 20-25 minutes to happen, so while the barley is cooking, I start the soup at the same time. The barley will have soaked in the flavor of the chicken broth which will make them really plump and delicious. Once the barley has finished cooking, I place a lid on it, move the pot off the heat, and let it sit until I’m ready to add it into the soup.

Moving forward, in a large heavy bottom pot, I heat up some olive oil. To the oil I add in diced onion and let it saute until the onion is translucent. Next some minced garlic, dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, Kosher salt, and black pepper. I stir that around for just a minute before adding in the ground beef. Here I’m using a very lean type, ground sirloin. I want to use the very best ingredients for this soup so the finished product will be delicious. I let the ground sirloin cook on med high heat, with the onions, garlic and spices until it’s nice and brown in color. When the meat has finished browning I add in all my veggies. I have diced celery, diced carrots, and a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Remember to cut all the veggies around the same size so they cook evenly. I stir all these ingredients together and let cook for a minute before adding in my liquid.

I’m adding in some low sodium beef stock instead of beef broth. The stock has a deeper and richer flavor, and I thought it would be delicious in this soup. You want to make sure that that you add enough liquid. What I do is, to add enough beef stock where the liquid comes up to about 2 inches from the top of the pot. If you think you don’t have enough liquid, then you can always add in some water. Still on med high heat, I bring everything up to a bubble before reducing the soup to a simmer and letting it cook for around 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes I add in all that delicious barley that I’ve already prepared.

I let that continue to simmer for another 15 minutes, so the barley can marry with all the other flavors in the soup. Turn the heat off and cover the pot and it’s ready to eat. Wait!, what about some home made croutons for the top. I just happen to have a nice baguette left over from yesterday that would work just perfect. All I did was to slice the baguette up and drizzle the slices with olive oil, salt and pepper and toasted them off in the oven until golden brown. “Soups On!

Directions:
First you want to have all you veggies prepped, and the can of tomatoes opened and ready before starting the soup. Start by cooking the barley in the chicken broth at the same time you start the soup. After about 20 minutes of simmering on low keep your eye on the barley to make sure all the liquid has been absorbed so that you can remove it from the heat. Place a lid on it to keep it warm while the soup is cooking. After the soup has been simmering for at least 30 minutes then add the cooked barley, and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. At this point the soup is done. Place a lid on the pot to keep it hot and make yourself some delicious home made croutons for the top. I like to even throw on some shredded cheese. You know everything is just better with cheese!

Let’s Dish With Linda Lou

Hello

Linda Lou And Melissa

Hello, thank you so much for stopping by. I'm Linda Lou, a single parent of a beautiful daughter named, Melissa. She's now currently, continuing her education, while living in San Fran. CA. Myself, I live in Orlando, Florida, in a great neighborhood known as College park. I learned how to cook at a very early age from my mother, who was from England, also my grandmother, who was from Italy. Two very different types of cuisine. I believe, that both styles shine through in my recipes. Living in such a warm climate, I'm lucky enough to be able to grow all my own herbs. As often as I can, I take advantage of our farmer's market, where I buy seasonal and local ingredients. I've lived in Orlando for many years and watched the culinary industry grow beyond belief. We have great chefs and terrific cuisine all over the state. I'm going to be sharing my recipes, my life, and giving a peek into the culinary world of two cities, Orlando and San Francisco.